The special commission charged with rooting out official corruption is in the process of hiring consulting firms to help it crunch reams of financial and other data, the Times Union has learned.

The Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, which has no formal budget appropriation, is negotiating the contracts through the state Division of the Budget, sources familiar with the process said.

The documents have not been finalized, and it's unclear how much money is involved, whether the Budget Division will piggyback on existing contracts or pick a new vendor.

"We currently have no signed contracts and we've put out no requests for proposals," said Budget Division spokesman Morris Peters.

The contracting effort is the latest indication of the scope of the commission's activities, and it's given fuel to skeptics. Republicans in the Senate have expressed concern that the 25-member commission will lead to a witchhunt that discredits legislators but leaves Gov. Andrew Cuomo, its convener, unscathed.

"We believe taxpayers should have a full accounting of the costs associated with the creation and operation of the Moreland Commission," said Scott Reif, a spokesman for Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos, R-Long Island.

The commission's dedicated staff include an executive director, Regina Calcaterra, who is paid $175,000. Two assistant attorneys general are also working on its activities, and a dedicated spokesperson was detailed from the Division of Criminal Justice Services. At least five employees are bringing in six-figure salaries.

Commission spokeswoman Michelle Duffy said the commission "is, and will continue to be, funded by existing resources in the currently adopted budget."

"It is important that the commission have the resources needed to fulfill its mandate to root out public corruption and make recommendations for systemic change," she said. "Commission staff were hired on pre-existing, vacant, positions in the Executive Chamber, or are on loan from the Chamber, the Attorney General's Office and relevant state agencies, such as the Department of Criminal Justice Services."

Commissioners have requested records from the state Board of Elections and Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which oversees lobbying. They've also asked legislators deriving more than $20,000 in outside income to disclose their sources, and requested lawmakers who are attorneys disclose their civil or criminal clients — transparency that the Legislature has resisted for years, claiming it violates attorney-client privilege.

The deadline for a response is Friday. Both the Assembly and Senate have retained outside law firms to represent them during commission proceedings.

And a hearing in the Capital Region is scheduled for Tuesday evening at the Crossings of Colonie Meeting House. People wishing to testify are being asked to register online.

Dozens of people were unable to attend the first public hearing in lower Manhattan, which also drew demonstrators marking the second anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

"The room was closed to the public. The commissioners had seats, the people who had signed up to testify and been confirmed were let in off of a list, but there was a line with metal stanchions on the sidewalk of about 75 or 80 people," said Michael Kink, the head of a union-backed coalition that pushes for publicly financed campaigns who tried to attend the hearing.

Duffy said the room for the first hearing, at Pace University, was simply too small. "Moving forward, we're thrilled people were so interested in the hearings and we'll keep in mind we might want a bigger space," she said.